Emerging; present participle of e·merge (Verb)
- Move out of or away from something and come into view.
- Become apparent, important, or prominent.
Happy Spring Equinox everyone!
More, soon…
Author Archives: by Annie Claire
Winter Collection 2012
As we dance around the chaos of the season – interrupting winds, power cuts a plenty, rivers past our front door, lakes taking up residency in the pastures, mud, [mud, and more mud] and an upcoming kidding season, along with the guests coming and going, laughter, cheer and celebration rising and falling in waves – this weekend, I bring you the Winter Collection 2012.
Pattern Release : Coastal Fog Cowl [it's been a while!]
Hi folks. It’s me.
I am, in fact, still here.
It’s sure been a while. I haven’t done the math but many more weeks or months than I probably realise have been and gone since I was last in this space. Days have become shorter, colder, wetter and more grey. But in the hopes to break the silence of my absence I want to whisk you back to the warmer days of a golden fall – right around the time when a little project between my LYS and I came off the needles. I am happy to introduce the Coastal Fog Cowl.
I am so luckily surrounded by many yarn stores in the area that I live, but there is one that holds a special place in my heart – YARN. It’s a small spot [those of you who've been, know what I mean!] full to the brim of the most amazing yarns, colours and all things knitterly. When Sunni, the store owner, approached me to design for her new website I jumped at the chance to work with the wonderful selection of yarns she carries. Staying true to my fiber values we selected Cascade Eco Duo from which I would work. This is a classic case of how I design – allowing the yarn to inspire me. My swatch surprised me, with a fabric that held so much texture and life alongside the soft and subtle drape of alpaca. Another surprise was the colour and the way the undyed alpaca fibers are distributed to offer a soft striping, an element I wanted to emphasise. My goal was to create something that was rustic, yet delicate.
The Coastal Fog Cowl is an interesting shape. It is effectively a short scarf secured with the use of two buttons to sit as a cowl around your neck. Different rates of increases and decreases create a curved rectangle around which you finish with a highly textured lace and bobble edging. I’m in love with this stitch pattern and already have plans to include it in another project – the gentle curves and waves of the lace work remind me of the ocean tide along side our hard rocky coast lines, which are reflected in the bobbles.
This is a great project for those of you who dislike the piles of small balls of remnant yarn you collect as projects go by. This pattern uses all but a few yards of Cascade Eco Duo and I cannot recommend enough that you check your gauge. It’s also a speedy knit, easily completed in a weekend – perhaps the perfect last minute gift for a loved one.
Sunni and YARN recently released their new website, www.yarn-fun.com. Expanding with the opening of an online store, this site is oh so cleverly organised by projects. Inspired by the amazing photography you are invited to browse the patterns and projects, from which you can easily select the yarn and needles you might need. SO much easier than flicking back and forth between yarn, patterns, and needle sections – its all there, in one place.
The Coastal Fog Cowl is only going to be available from YARN and is currently only available in PDF format.
Sizes : One size.
Measurements : 39” long, at longest point x 13” deep.
Yarn : 2 skeins Cascade Eco Duo [70% Undyed Baby Alpaca/30% Undyed Merino Wool, 3.5oz, 197 yds]. Shown in ‘Koala’ 1706.
Needles : US 8 [5mm] needles, circular or straight, or size to obtain gauge.
Gauge : 18 sts and 19 rows = 4 inches in garter st.
Notions : Tapestry needle, two 5/8” buttons.
On ravelry : For purchase here
At dusk
This evening gave us an hour earlier sunset allowing us to capture it a little before the evening work began… Luckily I’m done for the day and all I have yet to do is create something warm and hearty for hardworking bellies, and knit an inch, or more…
Sometimes all you need to do is stop, and pay attention.
Prepared
Sorry about the silence the past few days – weeks? Things have picked up a notch over here, and not only in my fiber world. Out on the farm we have been preparing for yet another kidding season, the now 4-5 month old kids are out of the kidding barn and onto pasture, and with Mister having some physical restrictions [he's fine, just has to take it easy for a while] the rest of us are rallying around to give his body a bit of a break. But, the main thing we have been working hard to prepare for is, the rain. This is definitely not the wettest place in the world, but it is by far the wettest place I have ever lived. We have had a few sneak previews since the weather turned, but yesterday was once of those days that brings the sharp shock of reality that in the next few months we might not see anything else but rain for weeks on end…. and it makes you so grateful that you have a shed, make that three sheds, stacked to the gills with wood, barns big enough for all your animals [and more], a camper shell on your truck, that you didn’t skimp on the rain gear, and lots, and lots, of knitting.
Autumn in handspun
My great intentions of 20 minutes and 1oz a day lasted until I had spun up all my Autumnal fiber, but then, as I could have predicted, my plans fell by the wayside, just as much as my inability to share with you the final yardage! So here is a catch up. I don’t think I need to even say how much I love how Carin Engen‘s hand dyed Merino and Corridale fiber spun up, I’ll let pictures speak for themselves. I decided to leave it as singles, and even though I have a lot of room for improvement my spinning is coming back to me, and this yarn is already on the needles, creating the most amazing fabric!
With hopes to get back to my 1oz a day regime I have some Romney fiber from Yolo Wool Mill filling my bobbin right now, naturally dyed with Coffee and Rhubarb. It feels more like Spring to me.
The shelves
I have a shelf, well, in fact many shelves, that store my yarn. There is one particular shelf however, that I want to share with you. It is full of skeins of all sorts of fibers, and a range of colours from pinks to blues to greens and oranges. The reason for all this randomness is down to the way in which they got there. These skeins are my experiments. In perfecting the ratio of dye plant to fiber, and in gathering a cohesive selection of colours, these skeins are a result of the steps I take into getting each collection off the ground. I dip into this shelf every now and then, often for gift knitting, but it is becoming more and more apparent that I don’t do it enough. So, I want to share them with you.
Although I didn’t quite dye these skeins just for you, I might as well have as they are one of a kind, never to be dyed again. As of today you will find these skeins in my etsy shop, discounted, and as always with US domestic shipping fees included. Look carefully on each listing as there might be only one, or a sweaters worth of yarn!
Rather than have them sit on the shelf, feeling like seconds, I want to give them them chance to be loved, and created into something magical. They’re waiting, just for you.
